A man dies of a heart attack while picking ice apples from a 60-foot-tall palmyra tree in Kerala

A 64-year-old man died after suffering a heart attack while collecting ice apples (nonka) from a tall Asiatic palm tree at Palappuram near Ottapalam in Palakkad district on Saturday (October 17, 2026) morning.

The deceased was Rajakumaran, a resident of Chathan Plakkal, Pallarmangalam, Palappuram.

The incident took place around 7 am when Rajakumaran climbed a palmyra palm about 60 feet tall in the compound of a house in Mattampettakkattu, near the old post office in Palappuram.

When he did not come down from the tree, the locals checked on him and found him stuck at the top of the tree. They asked for help from the Fire and Rescue Service personnel from Shoranur.

Firefighters soon reached the spot and pulled Rajakumaran from the tree. However, by the time he was brought to the ground around 9:00 a.m., he had died

His body was taken to Government Taluk Hospital in Ottapalam.

Published – 17 Oct 2026 17:11 IST